Research has shown that perfectionism is connected to poor mental health, relationship issues, and health problems. And yet perfectionism levels among students have skyrocketed compared to a couple decades ago. What do we do?
A study published online in December 2017 [1] from the Psychological Bulletin found that perfectionism among American, Canadian, and British college students, especially when influenced by social media, has increased by 33% since 1989. Jane Adams, social psychologist, writer, and coach, said it came as no surprise to her [2]. Why has perfectionism become such an easily acceptable student pandemic, and what could we do about it?
Undoubtedly, the major advances in technology and education are partly the reason for this phenomenon. Nowadays more and more students are exposed to a wealth of opportunities, but also to a minefield of competition. And as the quality and standards of teaching and excellence get higher and higher, succeeding as a student has become more demanding than ever before. “…meritocracy places a strong need for young people to strive, perform and achieve.” [1, pp. 413] said Dr Thomas Curran, lecturer in the Centre for Motivation and Health Behaviour Change at the University of Bath in England. They have increasingly unrealistic educational and professional expectations for themselves [1].
It is frequent to hear students describe themselves as a “perfectionist”, and even more frequent that they use it as a way to dismiss the struggles they face, even though perfectionism impacts their life in very real ways. Primarily the amount of anxiety, depressive thoughts, and stress that accompany the feeling that they are never enough; never getting good enough grades, getting enough work or research experience, participating enough in University and student life. And the list goes on.
In psychological research, perfectionism is traditionally characterised by setting and trying to achieve impossibly high-standards, while being overly critical of yourself, and being terrified of failing. Traditional theorists say this arises from poor self-esteem [3]. But some academics, such as Flett and Hewitt [4], have argued that perfectionism can operate on many dimensions: self-oriented (setting excessively high standards and strict self-evaluations of yourself), other-oriented (holding other people to extremely high standards), and socially described perfectionism (the need to attain standards which you think significant others expect of or impose on you). Assessing perfectionism in more depth through these different dimensions (e.g. with the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale) can be a useful tool for each individual to understand where their “all or nothing” inner voice is coming from.
Another debate looks at whether perfectionism is only a negative (or maladaptive) trait, or whether, at the right dosage, it can also have a positive impact. For those arguing that it can be either, the deciding criterion is the nature of one’s excessively high standards: are they unreasonable and debilitating, or reasonable and motivating? Many attempts to help manage perfectionism also then focus on these standards, and attempt to make them be the lower, reasonable type.
While managing unrealistic expectations and standards should be a wanted outcome, Professor Kenneth G. Rice, co-director of the Center for the Study for Stress, Trauma and Resilience at Georgia State University, has pointed out that it does not reflect the bigger picture [5]. It is very task-specific and individual-specific to decide whether certain standards are realistic or not. Also, people tend to like their personal standards, and find meaning or motivation in them. The secret then, might be understanding the feelings and thoughts these standards create in an individual, what behaviours or reactions they cause, as well as why they exist in the first place.
Perhaps an unsung hero for dealing with perfectionism, is talking; asking what people or situations expect of you, instead of assuming everything is a race for which you are never adequately prepared, or a fight you have to go at it alone. Positivity is another: there are many things for which we are more than enough, but we tend not to give ourselves credit for it. Working to change that, we can start chipping away at the monster of “what if I am not good enough”.
Reference list
[1] Curran, T. and Hill, A.P. (2017 online, 2019 in print) ‘Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016.’ Psychological Bulletin, 145(4), pp. 410-429. doi: dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000138.
[2] Adams, J. (2018) ‘More College Students Seem to Be Majoring in Perfectionism.’ The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2018. Available at: www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/well/family/more-college-students-seem-to-be-majoring-in-perfectionism.html (Accessed 5 September 2019).
[3] Sirois, F.M. and Molnar, D.S. (2016) ‘Conceptualizations of Perfectionism, Health, and Well-Being: An Introductory Overview.’ in Sirois, F. M. and Molnar, D.S. (eds.) Perfectionism, Health, and Well-Being. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–21.
[4] Flett, G.L. and Hewitt, P.L. (eds.) (2002) Perfectionism: Theory, research, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
[5] Rice, K.G., Richardson, C.M.E. and Ray, M.E. (2016) ‘Perfectionism in Academic Settings.’ in Sirois, F. M. and Molnar, D.S. (eds.) Perfectionism, Health, and Well-Being. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 245–264.
